Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC

BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,538 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.4% of BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $3.89 on Wednesday, hitting $198.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,780,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,606,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $200.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.